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I practiced Ben Franklin's 13 virtue system for 3 years

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Re: I practiced Ben Franklin's 13 virtue system for 3 years

#31

Post by emodendroket »

iak8god wrote: post #26
jaymeh13 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never practiced this because I didn't feel it very helpful. I wish I had more insight into why Ben Franklin thought this was important.

> I wish I had more insight into why Ben Franklin thought this was important. Perhaps you would if you'd tried it :) But really, doesn't this point boil down to: don't act like a sex addict, and avoid stirring up a bunch of drama ?

The standards for acceptable conduct in the 18th Century were quite different in this regard than they are today.

Re: I practiced Ben Franklin's 13 virtue system for 3 years

#32

Post by costcopizza »

Exuma wrote: post #25

If you're interested in something like this, but something that seems a lot more "applicable", try to do sentence completions according to this book. It's one of the best books I have ever read, and I don't say that lightly. Every person I recommend it to instantly is blown away. https://www.amazon.com/Six-Pillars-Self-Esteem-Nathaniel-Bra... He talks about sentence completions in there. I've been doing them and just…

Wow, this looks fantastic. Thanks for the rec

Re: I practiced Ben Franklin's 13 virtue system for 3 years

#33

Post by blakesterz »

Exuma wrote: post #25

If you're interested in something like this, but something that seems a lot more "applicable", try to do sentence completions according to this book. It's one of the best books I have ever read, and I don't say that lightly. Every person I recommend it to instantly is blown away. https://www.amazon.com/Six-Pillars-Self-Esteem-Nathaniel-Bra... He talks about sentence completions in there. I've been doing them and just…

I like the look of those:

http://www.nathanielbranden.com/sentence-completion-i

Re: I practiced Ben Franklin's 13 virtue system for 3 years

#34

Post by hsitz »

Exuma wrote: post #25

If you're interested in something like this, but something that seems a lot more "applicable", try to do sentence completions according to this book. It's one of the best books I have ever read, and I don't say that lightly. Every person I recommend it to instantly is blown away. https://www.amazon.com/Six-Pillars-Self-Esteem-Nathaniel-Bra... He talks about sentence completions in there. I've been doing them and just…

I agree that's an excellent book, and that his sentence completion exercises are helpful. I would caution against thinking they're some kind of magical thing; they help, that's all, there's still lots of work a person needs to do. In any case, anyone who's interested can start out by reading the same exercises on his website (which is still there even though Branden died several years ago):

http://www.nathanielbranden.com/sentence-completion-i

http://www.nathanielbranden.com/sentence-completion-ii

Re: I practiced Ben Franklin's 13 virtue system for 3 years

#35

Post by leephillips »

Arubis wrote: post #23
leephillips wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, every semester for 2.5 years while at Stuyvesant H.S. I remember his voice clearly, when he paused and said, "I do not like him."

What was it like having him as a teacher? His writings portray him as deeply passionate about the field & a very genuine human being; I'd be interested to know how your experience compared. Also, I'm incredibly jealous.

Well, put it this way: One day there was some kind of staffing glitch, and one of my classes had no teacher. So 30 students were left to their own devices; some snuck outside, some went to the cafeteria to socialize, some to the library, or to the auditorium, which was used as a kind of study hall. At the time, McCourt was covering Hamlet. Remember high school? Every subject, every day, for forty minutes. I went to McCourt’s classroom, found the one empty desk, and sat down. He glanced at me and kept on going, without missing a beat.

I re-read Hamlet every few years. In my inner voice, the characters have a tendency to slip into an Irish accent.

Re: I practiced Ben Franklin's 13 virtue system for 3 years

#36

Post by iak8god »

emodendroket wrote: post #31
iak8god wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wish I had more insight into why Ben Franklin thought this was important. Perhaps you would if you'd tried it :) But really, doesn't this point boil down to: don't act like a sex addict, and avoid stirring up a bunch of drama ?

The standards for acceptable conduct in the 18th Century were quite different in this regard than they are today.

> The standards for acceptable conduct in the 18th Century were quite different in this regard than they are today.

Well, they didn't have Tinder, but I'm not so sure things were as different as you may think. Here's a pretty amusing letter Franklin wrote that may provide some insight into his thinking on the topic:

Benjamin Franklin, Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress (1745) - http://www.themightypen.net/topic/16757-benjamin-franklin-ad...

Re: I practiced Ben Franklin's 13 virtue system for 3 years

#38

Post by datawarrior »

ravenstine wrote: post #27

Just a note on Bushido: Although I'm sure such codes can be useful to people, it's essentially bullcrap got used to fuel Japan's rise of fascism. https://www.tofugu.com/japan/bushido/ I particularly loathe the term as I've heard it used by more than one desperate "white knight" who doesn't practice a single bit of it but uses it to appear virtuous. Whenever I hear someone mention "bushido", my first instinct is to as…

Japan was never Fascist

Re: I practiced Ben Franklin's 13 virtue system for 3 years

#39

Post by komali2 »

ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #22
irrational wrote: post #19

The first thing that came to mind when reading the list: 1. TEMPERANCE Hara Hachi Bu 2. SILENCE It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. 3. ORDER This would be my wife's number 1. She abhors clutter. 4. RESOLUTION Why is this called resolution instead of honesty? 5. FRUGALITY Avoid debt I guess. 6. INDUSTRY Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent persp…

>12. CHASTITY Get checked for STIs on a regular basis. I think that even in a modern context you are setting the bar a little low there. But good for you for getting regular check-ups!

Yea I'd swap that for "wear a condom."
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